Disorders of the spine can cause extreme and debilitating pain. The disorder may be due to trauma, inflammation, or degeneration of any one of a number of spinal components. One such spinal component that can be a significant source of spinal disorders is the facet joint, which is a diarthroidal joint that provides both sliding articulation and load transmission features while preventing excessive torsion of the spine. By way of example, a patient may suffer from arthritic facet joints, severe facet joint tropism, otherwise deformed facet joints, facet joint injuries, etc. These disorders can lead to spinal stenosis, degenerative spondylolithesis, and/or isthmic spondylotlisthesis, causing pinching of the nerves that extend between the affected vertebrae. In addition, problems with the facet joints can complicate treatments associated with other portions of the spine. For example, contraindications for intervertebral disc replacement include arthritic facet joints, absent facet joints, severe facet joint tropism, or otherwise deformed facet joints. Also, disorders in an intervertebral disc often will lead to disorders in the facet joint, and vice-versa.
The demand for pain relief from those who suffer from back pain has spurred technological development. To this end, various technologies and approaches have been developed to treat spinal pain, including disorders associated with facet joints. One treatment is a facetectomy, which is removal of the facet joint. A facetectomy may provide some pain relief. However, the facet joints partially support axial, torsional, and shear loads that act on the spinal column. Thus, their removal inhibits natural spinal function and may lead to increased instability of the spine. Fusion is another treatment for the facet joint. Fusion is usually completed as part of a fusion of adjacent vertebrae to stabilize the spine at the fused location. Other treatments include surgically implanting artificial devices either to replace or support the facet joints. Unfortunately, the currently available implants require invasive surgery. Moreover, they do not adequately address all of the mechanics of motion for the spinal column and many have a tendency to migrate from their installed location under normal patient activity.
There is thus a need for noninvasive methods for stabilizing facet joints while improving patient recovery time and implant stability.